Bridge to Nowhere Trail Claims Life
A young mother was swept away and killed by the fast-moving San Gabriel River on the popular Bridge to Nowhere hiking trail in Southern California. Officials warn that water levels remain dangerously high and conditions are unsafe for hiking along river-adjacent trails. Hikers are urged to heed closures and check local advisories before venturing out.
The victim was identified as 33-year-old Jaqueline Aguilar De Lao. The incident occurred around 8 a.m. on Sunday, March 2, 2026, when she fell into the East Fork of the San Gabriel River at the second river crossing on the trail. Members of the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team were already at the trailhead speaking with hikers about safety when a runner alerted them to the accident. This is not an isolated incident for the San Gabriel River trails. In March 2024, a 59-year-old woman was also swept away and died while attempting to cross the river near the Heaton Flats trailhead. Rescue teams frequently warn that the multiple required river crossings on the Bridge to Nowhere trail can become treacherous and impassable, especially in the spring or after rainfall when the river swells. The "Bridge to Nowhere" itself is a relic of a major 1930s infrastructure project. Built in 1936, the 120-foot span was meant to be part of a scenic highway connecting the San Gabriel Valley with Wrightwood. The road was never completed. Just two years after the bridge's construction, a catastrophic flood in March 1938 washed out the roadway leading to it, leaving the structure permanently stranded in the wilderness. Remnants of the old asphalt and the foundations of other destroyed bridges can still be seen along the trail. The trail was reopened last summer after being closed for nearly a year due to the 2024 Bridge fire, which burned over 56,000 acres in the area. Despite its popularity for hiking and bungee jumping, the trail's environment includes burn scars that can increase the risk of flooding and debris flows.
